Rotknopf – Oliver Schwarz
To me a custom-made suit was always something that I would never be able to afford. When I got to know Rotknopf (=red button) in Vienna, I was taught better. The shop with its charming interiors offers custom-made suits at an affordable price. The suits are tailored in India and fit in the shop in Vienna’s Lindengasse.
The idea for the business came to Oliver out of frustration. Back in the days when he was working in an international auditing company in Bratislava he had to wear a suit every day. He wanted to get an olive-green suit in a modern style at a good price. But none was available, neither in Bratislava nor in Vienna.
Shortly afterwards a friend of Oliver who was working in the Austrian Trade Commission in Delhi told him the price, that a custom-made suit cost in India. Almost at the same Oliver’s girlfriend Pola wanted to do an internship in India. Oliver interpreted the signs and the business idea was born. He took advantage of the international network of his employer and got a job in India.
There he worked on his business plan, created contacts and had some suits custom-tailored in order to find the right partner. Oliver was looking for a taylor who pays attention to smallest details, who is willing to learn and who has sufficient capacity. On his search Oliver had to overcome some cultural obstacles: “In India time has a different importance than in Europe. If I deliver one suit late in my shop, it can happen, but if I deliver 50 suits late in my shop, I have a problem.”
After 22 months he had the contacts and the cultural competence to get things done. Back in Europe he planned on working as an auditor again for some months in order so save some start-up capital. But his girlfriend had different plans: She faced Oliver with a tough choice: Either he realizes the plans he worked so hard for immediately or she would break up.
Today Oliver is happy, that Pola forced him to start the business. “Many people around me had doubts and advised me to avoid the risk. You have everything ready and then you lack the courage to realize it. I needed one person to give me a push.” Oliver and Pola are now married and expecting their first child.
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